21:32 · drizzle stopping · west borough
they have not spoken. they are not going to. the bench is wide enough for both of them and a deliberate amount of unoccupied wood between them. the timetable is fixed to the glass and slightly out of date, like all timetables in a city that has changed its mind about itself.
one of them is younger. one of them is older. it doesn't matter which. the bus is six minutes late and then four minutes late and then arriving. they look up at the same time, having spent twenty quiet minutes performing the same patience in slightly different keys.
field note: the older one boards first because the younger one steps back without quite stepping back.
kiosk · a neighbour · subway · stranger